CLEOPATRA`S NEEDLE AND HAUNTED VICTORIA EMBANKMENT IN LONDON | Haunted Earth`s Ghost World CLEOPATRA`S NEEDLE AND HAUNTED VICTORIA EMBANKMENT IN LONDON A pedestrian crossing to the obelisk frames perfectly in picture. Situated on the embankment of London`s river Thames stands an iconic structure far older than the city itself, and one shrouded in mystery and strange paranormal events. `Cleopatra`s Needle` is an ancient Egyptian obelisk that has no particular connection with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and was already over a thousand years old in her lifetime when it was first erected in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis on the orders of Thutmose III, around 1450 BC. An iconic attraction in London It was granted as a gift to the British people by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan Muhammad Ali, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801.

Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to fund the expense of transporting it to London and it wasn`t until 1877 by public subscription that the stone was eventually brought to London on a specially constructed raft. The long journey across water was not without incident as in October of that year the obelisk broke free of it`s tow during a great storm in the Bay of Biscay. The obelisk was eventually rescued, and after repairs to the raft in a Spanish port, it eventually arrived in London in January of 1878 and after public discussion over where it should be displayed, it was finally erected on the Victoria Embankment on 12 September 1878. The obelisk finally being erected The construction of the new site was not without error, as the two faux- Egyptian Sphinxes` were placed facing inwards rather than outwards away from the obelisk.

At the time of the obelisk`s erection, an early time capsule was placed within the foundations containing the following: A set of 12 photographs of the best looking English women of the day, a box of hairpins, a box of cigars, several tobacco pipes, a set of imperial weights, a baby's bottle, some children's toys, a shilling razor, a hydraulic jack and some samples of the cable used in erection, a 3' bronze model of the monument, a complete set of British coins, a rupee, a portrait of Queen Victoria, a written history of the strange tale of the transport of the monument, plans on vellum, a translation of the inscriptions, copies of the bible in several languages, a copy of Whitaker's Almanack, a Bradshaw Railway Guide, a map of London and copies of 10 daily newspapers. Cleopatra`s Needle appears to be a place where people have chosen to commit suicide by drowning from the embankment into the Thames.

One of the Sphinxes on guard This reputation has led to a number of phantom hauntings which are recorded as: One story tells of two separate policemen being stopped by a woman urging them to come to the banks of the River Thames because someone was about to jump in, only for them to get to the banks near to Cleopatra’s Needle to see a woman in identical dress as the one that approached them toss herself into the River. Mocking laughter can sometimes be heard from the area around the stone obelisk as well as unearthly screams. Whether these belong to the lost sailors is not known. Another River Thames ghost seen here is a ghostly naked man who has been seen dashing from behind the monument and jumping into the cold water which accepts him without the faintest ripple. Today the obelisk attracts many tourists to the city, and doubtless few have heard of it`s reputation when posing for photographs with friends or family. I have visited this site on numerous occasions, and despite it`s awe inspiring ancient beauty, there feels within a much darker presence from antiquity, although it has to be said that I never felt anything adversely negative.

Research on the internet reveals little more than I have shared, and to date I have not seen any film or photograph depicting anything questionably paranormal. Thanks For Making This Possible! Kindly Bookmark and Share it. Cleopatras Needle, The Embankment, London Cleopatra's Needle By Ellen Castelow , Contributing Writer | Comments Anyone visiting London for the first time and walking along the Thames Embankment may be surprised to come across an original Egyptian obelisk. Not what you expect to see in downtown London! This obelisk is known as Cleopatra's Needle …though it has very little to do with Cleopatra at all. It was made in Egypt for the Pharaoh Thotmes III in 1460 BC, making it almost 3,500 years old. It is known as Cleopatra's Needle as it was brought to London from Alexandria, the royal city of Cleopatra. But how did it come to be beside the Thames? It seems Britain wanted something big and noticeable to commemorate the British victory over Napoleon, sixty-three years earlier. The Needle arrived in England after a horrendous journey by sea in 1878.

The British public subscribed £15,000 to bring it over from Alexandria in Egypt, and waited eagerly for the 'needle' to arrive. A specially designed cigar-shaped container ship, called the Cleopatra, was used to convey this priceless treasure. It was built by the Dixon brothers and when finished was an iron cylinder, 93 feet long, 15 feet wide, and was divided into ten watertight compartments. A cabin, bilge keels, bridge and rudder were riveted on and to everyone's delight …she floated! But on October 14th 1877 in treacherous waters off the west coast of France in the Bay of Biscay disaster stuck… the Cleopatra was in danger of sinking. The steam-ship towing her, the Olga, sent six volunteers in a boat to take off the Cleopatra's crew, but the boat was swamped and the volunteers drowned. The names of the men who died are commemorated on one of the plaques to be seen today at the base of the Needle - William Askin, Michael Burns, James Gardiner, William Donald, Joseph Benton and William Patan.

Eventually the Olga drew alongside and rescued Cleopatra's five crewmen and their skipper, and cut the towrope, leaving the vessel adrift in the Bay of Biscay. In Britain the nation held its breath… would the Cleopatra remain buoyant - if not they had wasted a lot of money. Five days later a ship spotted the Cleopatra floating peacefully and undamaged off the northern coast of Spain, and towed her to the nearest port, Ferrol. Following her narrow escape, another steam-ship, the Anglia, was sent to tow the Cleopatra home. Finally in January 1878 both vessels came up the Thames and the waiting crowds cheered as artillery salvoes roared a welcome. The 'needle' was winched into position on the Embankment in September 1878, to the delight of the people. And what happened to the Cleopatra? She was sent for scrap as her job was done! Not many people today realise what a terrible journey the 'needle' had, and all to commemorate British victories at the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Alexandria...

One can't help thinking that surely some other triumphal symbol could have been placed by the Thames… something that was not so far away and difficult to bring. But then again, nothing was too much for the Victorians ! Location of Cleopatra's Needle Cleopatra's Needle stands on the Thames Embankment close to the Embankment underground station. Two large bronze Sphinxes lie on either side of the Needle. These are Victorian versions of the traditional Egyptian original. The benches on the Embankment also have winged sphinxes on either side as their supports. There are four plaques mounted round the base of the Obelisk giving a brief history of the 'needle' and its journey to London. Tweet If you enjoyed this article, you might also like... Secret London - Discover the hidden and secret sites of historic London, including the few buildings that survived the Great Fire, Britain's smallest police station, the sites of the forgotten plague pits, discover the Roman city walls, etc... The Great Pagoda at Kew - Kew Gardens in London boasts a most unusual structure: a huge Chinese pagoda. Constructed in 1762 and currently undergoing renovation, soon it will once again dazzle with its 80 golden dragons...

The Execution Sites of London - London has witnessed some of the most famous executions in history, and although the death penalty in England was abolished in 1965, we've managed to track down some of London's most historic execution sites which we've marked on this interactive map. Museums in Britain - View our interactive map showing the location of several hundred museums across the length and breadth of Britain, ranging from internationally famous museums such as the Natural History Museum, to specialist sporting and local history museums. Popular This Month Cleopatra’s Needle – An Egyptian Obelisk Living in Central London – TIM FLANAGAN Bookmark Cleopatra’s Needle – An Egyptian Obelisk Living in Central London If you’ve read my latest book, The New Savants, you will know that much of the book is based in London, mainly in the London Underground. However another important landmark also features – Cleopatra’s Needle. Here’s the story behind the needle. Situated close to the exit of the Embankment Underground Station is one of the most unlikely sites to be found in the heart of London, a massive ancient Egyptian obelisk.

It is one of three Cleopatra’s Needles in the world, including its twin that has been re-erected in New York City. London’s Needle is found on the Victoria Embankment and flanked by 2 models of the Sphinx which have been cast in bronze. Even though they are believed to be designed as the obelisk’s protectors, they appear to be gawking at it instead as a result of being positioned backwards. The benches around also have winged sphinxes as arms, and the overall effect is one mini-town erected in honour of ancient Egypt. The Cleopatra’s Needle is not directly associated with Cleopatra VII, as it was already over 1000 years old when she became queen. It is stipulated that the name was given because of the fact that it was transported to London from Alexandria. Made of red granite, standing at 69ft and weighing approximately 224 tons, the obelisk was originally erected when Thutmose III ordered its construction during his reign in the 18th Dynasty. It was put up in Heliopolis in 1450 B.C.

and 220 years after, Ramesses II added the inscriptions to commemorate his military victories. In 12 B.C., during the reign of Augustus, the obelisk (along with its twin) was moved to Alexandria to the Caesareum (which was a temple built by Cleopatra to honour either Mark Anthony or Julius Caesar). After an unknown period of time they fell over, facilitating the amazing preservation of the hieroglyphs. In 1819, the obelisk was presented to the UK by Muhammad Ali, the Egyptian and Sudanese ruler at the time, as a gift to celebrate the victories of Lord Nelson, Battle of the Niles, and Sir Ralph Abercromby, Battle of Alexandria. The UK’s government made the decision not to move the structure because of the high cost of transporting it. In 1877, an English surgeon and dermatologist, William James Erasmus Wilson, paid in excess of £10,000 to have it transported to London. After a particularly terrible journey by sea where the obelisk was in danger of being lost several times, it finally arrived in the county.

The structure was re-erected in 1878 and a time capsule was concealed in the front of the pedestal that it was on. This included various pictures and other memorabilia of the era. To educate visitors about the perilous journey and history of the obelisk, there are 4 plaques that surround Cleopatra’s Needle which tell its story. There was one more incident that the obelisk had to endure, when on September 4th, 1917, during WWI, a bomb landed in the vicinity but failed to damage it. A merging of cultures, Cleopatra’s Needle, along with its backwards facing guards, continues to overlook the city of London while its visitors marvel at this ancient structure that has survived for so long out of its original time and place. Share this: Cleopatra's Needle in Milk Glass 1877 - FAMOUS Souvenir пїЅ WZClassifieds.com Show on map Complain Cleopatra's Needle (the London monument), made in milk glass by Greener & Co. This souvenir was made in 1877, the date when the obelisk was to arrive in London from Egypt to be erected on the Embankment.

The ship carrying the obelisk had quite a mishap* (*see story provided by Wikipedia below) and therefore the monument was not completed until September 1878. 8.3/4" Tall x 3 1/2" diameter at its base. A Quite Rare Item in that the souvenir was made of a material not expected to last (milk glass). The Cleopatra's Needle located in Central Park, NYC, is over 3560 years old. It's original position was before the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, Cairo. In 1878 the Khedive of Egypt presented it to the people of the United States. Link to > Spread out your payments over time with PayPal Credit *Cleopatra's Needle, LondonThe London needle is in the City of Westminster, on the Victoria Embankment near the Golden Jubilee Bridges. It is close to the Embankment underground station. It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan Muhammad Ali, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801.

Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to fund the expense of transporting it to London. The obelisk remained in Alexandria until 1877 when Sir William James Erasmus Wilson, a distinguished anatomist and dermatologist, sponsored its transportation to London at a cost of some ?10,000 (a very considerable sum in those days). It was dug out of the sand in which it had been buried for nearly 2,000 years and was encased in a great iron cylinder, 92 feet (28 m) long and 16 feet (4.9 m) in diameter, designed by the engineer John Dixon and dubbed Cleopatra, to be commanded by Captain Carter. It had a vertical stem and stern, a rudder, two bilge keels, a mast for balancing sails, and a deck house. This acted as a floating pontoon which was to be towed to London by the ship Olga, commanded by Captain Booth. London's Needle being erected, August 1878.

The effort met with disaster on 14 October 1877, in a storm in the Bay of Biscay, when the Cleopatra began wildly rolling, and became untenable. The Olga sent out a rescue boat with six volunteers, but the boat capsized and all six crew were lost пїЅ named today on a bronze plaque attached to the foot of the needle's mounting stone. Captain Booth on the Olga eventually managed to get his ship next to the Cleopatra, to rescue Captain Carter and the five crew members aboard Cleopatra. Captain Booth reported the Cleopatra "abandoned and sinking," but instead she drifted in the Bay until found four days later by Spanish trawler boats, then rescued by the Glasgow steamer Fitzmaurice and taken to Ferrol in Spain for repairs. The Master of the Fitzmaurice lodged a salvage claim of ?5,000 which had to be settled before departure from Ferrol, which was negotiated down and settled for ?2,000. The William Watkins Ltd paddle tug Anglia under the command of Captain David Glue was then commissioned to tow the Cleopatra back to the Thames.

On their arrival in the estuary, the school children of Gravesend were given the day off when she arrived on 21 January 1878.[3] A wooden model of the obelisk had been placed outside the Houses of Parliament but the location had been rejected, so the London needle was finally erected on the Victoria Embankment on 12 September 1878.

On erection of the obelisk in 1878 a time capsule was concealed in the front part of the pedestal, it contained : A set of 12 photographs of the best looking English women of the day, a box of hairpins, a box of cigars, several tobacco pipes, a set of imperial weights, a baby's bottle, some children's toys, a shilling razor, a hydraulic jack and some samples of the cable used in erection, a 3' bronze model of the monument, a complete set of British coins, a rupee, a portrait of Queen Victoria, a written history of the strange tale of the transport of the monument, plans on vellum, a translation of the inscriptions, copies of the bible in several languages, a copy of John 3:16 in 215 languages, a copy of Whitaker's Almanack, a Bradshaw Railway Guide, a map of London and copies of 10 daily newspapers.

Cleopatra's Needle is flanked by two faux-Egyptian sphinxes cast from bronze that bear hieroglyphic inscriptions that say netjer nefer men-kheper-re di ankh (the good god, Thuthmosis III given life). These Sphinxes appear to be looking at the Needle rather than guarding it. This is due to the Sphinxes' improper or backwards installation. The Embankment has other Egyptian flourishes, such as buxom winged sphinxes on the armrests of benches. On 4 September 1917, during World War I, a bomb from a German air raid landed near the needle. In commemoration of this event, the damage remains unrepaired to this day and is clearly visible in the form of shrapnel holes and gouges on the right-hand sphinx. Restoration work was carried out in 2005. The original Master Stone Mason who worked on the granite foundation was Lambeth-born William Henry Gould (1822пїЅ1891).

Link to: Shop with abandon at INNSanity for more & oddities galore > > Shop with Abandon at INNSanity If you would like this shipped outside of the stipulated shipping area (within the Continental U.S.*), simply message us and we will let you know the shipping costs to the place you choose. *If you are an INTERNATIONAL Purchaser, please add at least 5 days more to the Handling Time noted within the offering. Thank you for understanding. And You May Add Us To Your Favorites List ! THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING with INNSanity! This is our best price. Hope it helps to make it yours. LONDON - CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE LONDON There will be a navigation menu here when all the pages are complete In the meantime, you need to return to this page . CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE From Waterloo Bridge there is an excellent view of the Egyptian obelisk commonly referred to as "Cleopatra's Needle". It was given this nickname by the British public when it arrived in London because, with it coming from Cleopatra's royal city of Alexandria, it was reckoned to have had some connection with her.

In actual fact, this obelisk and two others (now in Paris and New York) were originally sited in the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where they where certainly known to Moses who was in Heliopolis at the time. The Romans were responsible for moving them to Alexandria in 12 BC. By the time they were brought to Alexandria Cleopatra had been dead for about 18 years and Egypt was a Roman province governed by the emperor Augustus Caesar. The Romans erected the obelisks in Cleopatra's Caesarium, a temple she had commanded to be built in honour of Mark Anthony. The obelisk doesn't look so big from up here, but this is due to the height of Waterloo Bridge above the river. It is in fact 68 feet (22 metres) high and weighs about 180 tons. You can see a different perspective of the obelisk from here, which gives you a much better idea of its size.

The three obelisks were constructed on the orders of the Emperor Thutmose III some time around 1450 BC, and were cut from the red granite that was extracted from quarries of Aswan, near to the first cataract of the Nile. The hieroglyphics that are on them do not date from this period, but are almost certainly from the period of Ramses II about 200 years later, and refer to his military victories. Talking of military victories, in 1801 the British army under Lord Abercrombie defeated Napoleon's army at the Battle of Alexandria, and the British Navy under Nelson defeated the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile. Patriotic fervour being what it was after the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, it was felt that some monument should be erected to honour the victories in Egypt. By now this obelisk at the Caesarium was no longer standing but had long since toppled over and was almost completely buried in the sand. The Albanian-born viceroy of Egypt Mehemet Ali accordingly presented it to the people of Britain in 1819 as a trophy.

Although the British government was grateful for the gift, it decided that it was not worth the expense of transporting the obelisk to the UK so it languished at Alexandria for many years. Much later, an appeal for a public subscription of £15,000 was launched to defray the costs of transportation, but a gift of £10,000 from the famous dermatologist and promoter of the daily bath Sir Erasmus Wilson enabled plans to be made. An engineer from Newcastle upon Tyne, John Dixon, had been in in Cairo constructing an iron bridge and had later set off the explore the pyramids of Egypt with his younger brother Waynman (these two brothers are the source of the "Dixon Relics" at the British Museum and the Marischal Museum in Aberdeen). John Dixon was engaged to construct a floating tube to encase the obelisk, and he certainly did his principals proud. His tube, christened the "Cleopatra" was 92 feeet long and measured 15 feet in diameter. It even resembled a real ship, with a stem and stern, rudder, two keels, a mast, and a deck cabin to shelter the crew of 5.

To ensure flotation, the cylinder was divided into a series of 10 watertight compartments. Once the obelisk was safely inside, the ship "Olga" took it in tow and set sail for London in October 1877. All went well until a severe storm erupted in the Bay of Biscay and on 14 October 1877 it was clear that the "Olga" and "Cleopatra" were in severe difficulty. The master of the "Olga" took the decision to cut loose the "Cleopatra" in order to save his own ship, and sent a boat manned by six sailors to rescue the "Cleopatra's" crew. This capsized and all six were lost. Eventually, the "Olga" was able to rescue the crew, and they watched helplessly as the "Cleopatra" disappeared over the horizon, presumed lost.

After 60 days, news reached London that the "Cleopatra" had not sunk at all, but had been sighted in the Bay of Biscay by the English ship "Fitzmaurice", which had taken it in tow to a Spanish port (some suggest Ferrol, others Vigo). Whichever port it was, the "Fitzmaurice" was granted salvage of £2,000. Another British ship, the "Anglia", towed it back to the Gravesend in Kent in a journey of 6 days, where it arrived in Gravesend on 21 January 1878 to the accompaniment of a cannonade. The obelisk was erected on the Embankment in August and September 1878 by Dixon, and there was an intriguing story published in 1925 by H. V. Morton suggesting that they buried what in modern terms we would know as a time capsule consisting of sealed jars with contents the nature of which vary according to whichever report you read. Sands of Alexandria | Wendy WallaceWendy Wallace Search for: Sands of Alexandria Cleopatra’s Needle is a familiar London landmark.

Almost seventy feet high, the red granite obelisk stands on Victoria Embankment on the north side of the Thames and is flanked by two faux-Egyptian sphinxes. It is arguably the dominant feature of the Embankment on the north side of the river. The obelisk, the cast bronze sphinxes and the decorative sphinx-themed benches along this stretch of the river demonstrate the Victorian fascination with Egypt as well as Britain’s political involvement with the country. Sphinx bench end on Thames Embankment The obelisk – one of a pair, the other of which went to New York – was a gift to the British government from the Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Mahommed Ali, as is recounted in the series of plaques around the base of the obelisk. Portrait of Mahommed Ali by Auguste Couder ‘This obelisk quarried at Syene was erected at On (Heliopolis) by the Pharaoh Thothmes 111 about 1500 B.C. Lateral inscriptions were added nearly two centuries later by Rameses the Great removed during the Greek dynasty to Alexandria the Royal City of Cleopatra.

It was there erected in the 18th year of Augustus Caesar B.C. 12 ‘This obelisk prostrate for centuries on the sands of Alexandria was presented to the British nation A.D. 1819 by Mahommed Ali Viceroy of Egypt as a worthy memorial of our distinguished countrymen Nelson and Abercromby.’ Getting the obelisk from Alexandria to London was a tremendous feat of engineering and human endeavour. ‘Through the patriotic zeal of Erasmus Wilson F.R.S. this obelisk was brought from Alexandria encased in an iron cylinder. It was abandoned during a storm in the Bay of Biscay recovered and erected on this spot by John Dixon C.E.

in the 42nd year of the reign of Queen Victoria 1878 ‘William Askin Michael Burns James Gardiner William Donald Joseph Benbow William Patan perished in a bold attempt to succour the crew of the obelisk ship “Cleopatra” during the storm October 14th 1877.’ Erasmus Wilson – an eminent surgeon and dermatologist, with a special interest in hydrotherapy – paid £10,000 for the transport of the obelisk after the government of the day refused to fund the operation. Sir William James Erasmus Wilson Lives were lost when the obelisk – encased in a purpose-built iron cylinder – sank during a storm. The obelisk was recovered and finally arrived at Gravesend in January 1878. An elaborate timber structure was designed by engineer Benjamin Baker to lift it into place once it had been brought upriver. Hieroglyphs including the scarab and ankh on the sphinx The Victorian public had followed the process with interest and the so-called ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’ (a name adopted from the obelisk that had gone to Paris) quickly became an iconic sight.

Erasmus Wilson was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1881 and died three years later in 1884 at Westgate-on-Sea in Kent. The perils did not end once the obelisk was erected in London. It came close to destruction during the very first bombing raid of London of the first world war. Another plaque – this one on the plinth of one of the Sphinxes – records the damage sustained. In these days when travel to Egypt is sadly very difficult, the obelisk and sphinxes – and the remarkable story told on them – provide a little piece of Egypt in London. THE EMBANKMENT SERIES – PART TWO | Stories Of London -oOo- -oOo- Occasionally, my father would allow himself to speak, for he was not one to waste words, and he allowed his thoughts to be translated into speech and relate tales where he speculated on the identity of Jack the Ripper or discussed other villains such as Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen (1862-1910) who was accused of murdering his wife. Dr.

Crippen fled to Canada together with his mistress, Miss Ethel Le Neve (1883-1967), but were caught upon arrival and brought back to the U.K. where he was tried, convicted and hanged in 1910. He holds the distinction of being the first criminal to be captured through the use of Wireless Telegraphy . Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen seen (Top Left) in the dock with Miss Ethel Le Neve; Miss Le Neve was tried for accessory in the murder of Dr. Crippen’s wife, Corrine (Cora) Turner in August 1910 -oOo- CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE Cleopatra’s Needle was erected on the Victoria Embankment in August 1878 after a long and treacherous journey from Egypt to England. The obelisk was a gift to Britain by Muhammad Ali Pasha (1769-1849), a Turkish–Albanian commander in the army of the Ottoman Empire , who was Wāli (Governor) and self-declared Khedive ( Viceroy , the representative of a monach) of Egypt and Sudan.

The gift was presented in 1819 in recognition of the victory by the British fleet, under the direction of Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson (later Lord Nelson ) over that of Napoleon during The Battle of the Nile in 1798. The Destruction of L’Orient at The Battle of the Nile by George Arnald (1762-1841) Left: Lord Nelson by Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760-1802); Right: Muhammad Ali Pasha by Auguste Couder (1790-1873) -oOo- Ancient Egypt There are three obelisks known as Cleopatra’s Needle that were brought from Egypt as gifts to Britain, the United States and France. The obelisk now re-erected in Paris has its twin still present at the entrance of The Temple of Luxor while those re-erected in London and New York are a pair originally installed in the City of Heliopolis .

Although the name, Cleopatra’s Neddle, is most generally associated with the obelisk now present in London, none is actually associated with Cleopatra , Queen of Egypt (69-30 BC), since they were made over a thousand years prior to her reign. Both the London and New York obelisks are of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose III (c. 1543–1292 BC) while the one now present in the Place de la Concorde in Paris is from the reign of 19th Dynasty Ramesses II (c.1303-1213 BC). The Luxor Obelisk (L’Aiguille de Cleopatra) re-erected in 1833 in the Place de la Concorde The Romans moved the future London and New York obelisks to Alexandria in 12 BC and re-erected them in a temple originally built by Cleopatra in honour of either Mark Antony or Julius Caesar . At some time afterwards, the obelisks were toppled and their faces became buried, which help preserve most of the Hieroglyphs from the effects of weathering.

-oOo- It is of interest to note that the base of the future-New York obelisk was damaged during its transportation to Alexandria. In order to help support the obelisk, four crabs were added to the base! Why crabs were chosen for this purpose is unclear. Today, only two of the original crabs and one claw remain! Postcard of The Obelisk in Central Park, New York City from 1917 (Crabs inserted) -oOo- Plaque on one of the sides of Cleopatra’s Needle Although the British Government accepted the gift from Muhammad Ali Pasha, it declined to fund the expense of transporting it to London and the obelisk remained in Alexandria until Sir William James Erasmus Wilson (1809-1884), a renown surgeon and dermatologist, sponsored its transport to London. To achieve this aim, an iron cylinder of 92 feet in length and 16 feet in diameter, was designed by the engineer John Dixon (1795-1865) to contain the obelisk, which following certain additions, was transformed into a floating pontoon (named Cleopatra) and towed to London by a ship.

The Cleopatra During the trip, on 14th October, 1877 and while in the Bay of Biscay, the pontoon, began to roll and eventually became untenable, causing it be abandoned. Cleopatra floated in the Bay for four days before being retrieved by Spanish trawler boats and next by the steamer, Fitzmaurice. It was towed to Ferrol in Spain where a salvage claim of £5,000 was asked and later settled at £2,000. Following negotiations, the paddle tug, Anglia, was commissioned to tow the Cleopatra from Spain to Gravesend and then up the Thames and delivered on 21st January, 1878. Its journey up the Thames was greeted by cheers from the crowds lining the route and artillery salvoes . It was proposed to re-erect Cleopatra’s Needle outside the Houses of Parliament, but following its rejection, it was agreed to re-erect the obelisk on the Victoria Embankment, which took place on the 12th September, 1878.

-oOo- Those who lost their lives during the rescue of the pontoon, Cleopatra, during the storm of 14th October, 1877, are remembered by a plaque on one of the sides of the obelisk. Following the arrival of the Cleopatra in London, it was sent to be broken up for scrap. -oOo- The obelisk is flanked by two bronze faux Sphinxes with Hieroglyphic inscriptions designed by George John Vulliamy (1817-1886) who also designed the Sturgeon Lamps lining the Victoria Embankment. The Sphinxes were improperly installed, as they both face the obelisk when they should be seen to guard it. Sturgeon Lamp & a Faux Sphinx facing the wrong way! -oOo- Postcard of Cleopatra’s Needle provided by Mr. Dave Hill -oOo- Cleopatra’s Needle The Plinth of the Right Sphinx shows damage caused by the bomb dropped close by on the 4th September, 1917 during the First World War. Restoration work was not carried out until 2005.

-oOo- Monet: Charing Cross Bridge & Cleopatra’s Needle (1899-1901) -oOo- CHARING CROSS or HUNGERFORD BRIDGE Monet: Charing Cross Bridge (1903) When I was young and taking walks along The Embankment with my parents, the Jubilee Bridge and the Embankment Place had yet to be built and Charing Cross Underground Station was still the long and rambling maze of corridors that stretched from Charing Cross Station & Strand beneath the ground down to The Embankment. At this time, any changes that were to come were perhaps in the planning stage and tucked away in a room at 55 Broadway . -oOo- Entrance to Embankment Underground Station I wonder what my father would think of the changes to this area of The Embankment. He was not one to embrace change, but I do however think that he would somewhat grudingly approve of the Jubilee Bridges addition to Hungerford Bridge. Although he admired the Thames Bridges, he found Hungerford Bridge to be very ugly and often said that it should be replaced with a more attractive structure.

Although the Golden Jubilee Bridges are not ideal, their addition does hide Hungerford Bridge and makes it less offensive to the eye! Hungerford and Jubilee Bridges from The London Eye – photograph taken by Own Work I feel certain that he would not find Embankment Place to his taste. I believe that he would find it overpowering and lacking in charm. I think he would believe that it will date rapidly and most likely be replaced quickly and therefore be a waste of money! But, we will have to wait and see about this! Embankment Place built over Charing Cross Railway Station -oOo- The Charing Cross or Hungerford Bridge that I knew as a child was the second bridge built to cross the River Thames at this point. The first Hungerford Bridge was a suspension bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in 1845. The bridge linked the South Bank to the Hungerford Market in Charing Cross . The First Hungerford Bridge designed by Brunel The land occupied by the market was sold to the South Eastern Railway in 1862.

The Company demolished the remains of the market and then built Charing Cross Railway Station on the site, which was opened for service in 1864. The Brunel Suspension Bridge was replaced with the Hungerford Railway Bridge designed by Sir John Hawkshaw . This bridge is comprised of nine spans made of wrought iron lattice girders and used the brick pile buttresses of the original bridge. The chains from the Brunel Suspension Bridge were re-used to complete the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol . Walkways were added on each side of the Railway Bridge, with the upstream one later being removed when the railway was widened. The Second Hungerford Bridge This postcard was provided by Dave Hill With the increase in foot traffic across Hungerford Bridge, the footbridge proved to be too narrow. In addition, its condition declined and it became dangerous to walkers. In the mid-1990s a decision was made to replace the footbridge with new structures on either side of the existing Railway Bridge and a competition was held in 1996 to find a new design and the architects, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and engineers, WSP Group were declared the winners.

Two new 13- foot wide footbridges were completed in 2002 and named the Golden Jubilee Bridges in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth . The Golden Jubilee Bridges won the Specialist category in the Royal Fine Art Commission Building of the Year Award in 2003. The design also gained a Structural Achievement Award commendation in the 2004 Institution of Structural Engineers awards and has won awards from the Civic Trust and for its lighting design. -oOo- SHELL MEX HOUSE & THE HOTEL CECIL My father remembered the Hotel Cecil , and although he admired Shell Mex House very much, he lamented its demolition to make way for a new building. The postcards of the Hotel Cecil were provided by Mr. Dave Hill Postcard of the Hotel Cecil , built between1890 and 1896 and demolished in 1930 to make way for Shell-Mex House -oOo- Hungerford House The small white building shown on the left of the last postcard is Hungerford House. The building was used originally to house the power station when electric lighting was introduced on The Embankment and to the Savoy Theatre .

Since then, the building has had other uses and today is currently a night club. Hungerford House -oOo- The Hotel Cecil was built between (The) Strand and The Embankment over a six year period from 1890 and was the largest in Europe at the time with over 800 rooms. Its proprietor was Jabze Spencer Balfour (1843-1916) who, in addition to being a businessman, was a Liberal Party politician. In 1892, he was involved in a scandal involving the failure of a number of companies that he controlled, which led to a large number of people losing their investments. He was convicted of fraud and sent to prison and released in 1906. The Hotel was requisitioned for the war effort in 1917 and part of it became the first headquarters of the Royal Air Force (RAF) between 1918 and 1919. It also housed the members of the Palestine Arab delegation from August 1921 for almost a year who came to protest the terms of the Mandate for Palestine .

The Courtyard of The Hotel Cecil The Hotel was demolished between 1930 and 1931 although its facade on Strand remains and is occupied by shops. The Archway that once opened into the Hotel now leads to Shell Mex House . -oOo-

Question: Which famous London landmark was erected on the Embankment in September 1878?
Answer: Cleopatra's Needle